Before February 24, 2022, few could have imagined that Ukraine would be awarded candidate status to join the EU in the space of just a few months. But the war on Ukraine has transformed the relationship between Kyiv and Brussels, evident not just in the various bilateral visits at the highest level, but also in the reforms that the Ukrainian government is undertaking. Ukraine’s ambassador to the EU, Vsevolod Chentsov, assesses the current state of affairs and outlines the steps ahead.
Remembering the shocking first few hours and days after February 24, 2022, Chentsov says: "From the rational point of view nobody expected that the Kremlin could go so far. Yes, we've been at war with Russia for the last nine years – at that point it was eight years – so we knew pretty well what Russia is capable of. But a year later I think we better understand why it happened, and the main reason is the degradation of the Russian state, of the Russian system; a lack of democratic control. And the result is one person taking a really crazy decision, and holding his own country and a neighbouring country hostage."
Chentsov urges the EU not to lose focus when it comes to applying sanctions on Russia. "It is important that we hit the Russian economy in a powerful way," he says. “It's important that new sectors and products are included. It's important that personal sanctions are imposed on propagandists, on other people involved in the occupation of Ukrainian cities and in the so-called pseudo-referenda. It's also very important that the EU works seriously on sanctions circumvention. We have to make sure not just that the 10th package of sanctions is a powerful one, but also that previous sanctions packages are still holding water, are still working, so that Russia has fewer opportunities to procure equipment through third countries."
The ambassador is upbeat about the prospects for Ukraine to join the European Union. "We want to keep the high dynamics in this process," he says. "And what we've achieved in one year is unthinkable by normal EU standards. We have received candidate status; we started quite swift implementation of the seven steps that were suggested by the European Commission and endorsed by the Council. We are quite advanced on this path. We're working hard to get a positive assessment by the EU Commission in the spring, so that the Council can take a decision on the next step as soon as possible."
Chentsov goes on: "But it’s not only about the speed. It’s about the quality of reforms. We want Ukraine to make these reforms. It's not about the EU imposing reforms. We are not ticking boxes. We understand that we need to complete justice system reforms, and to make sure that anti-corruption bodies are functional."
On the question of accountability, Chentsov says: "We need to look into the very important issue of state-owned assets. There are definitely legal issues, and we need to find a solution as to how we overcome the legal obstacle which is known as sovereign immunity. But our approach is quite clear. The Russian Federation has committed the international crime of aggression, and it cannot hide behind state immunity. It cannot pretend to be protected by state immunity as a normal state. So we're working hard with the EU and other partners to find legal solutions."
Programme produced by Perrine Desplats, Johan Bodin, Sophie Samaille and Isabelle Romero
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